Best true story survival books and movies

quietmike

quietmike

Joined
Nov 26, 2006
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Only slightly less common than the "only one knife" thread is the book and video thread.
But what are some good books and videos? Again looking for true stories, not fiction.

My favorites:
Alone in the Wilderness-movie
Alive-movie
Touching the void-book and movie
Adrift-book
 
To Fight The Wild by Rod Ansell

http://www.amazon.com/Fight-Wild-Ro...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228773523&sr=8-1

After his small boat is overturned, Ansell is "not lost, but stuck" in the remote Australian bush for seven weeks. In this first-hand account, Rod recalls the loss of his supplies and equipment, the three-day search for fresh water, finding food, and setting up a camp. With only two puppies for companions, he depends on resourcefulness and inner strength until he is rescued by a group of traveling bushmen. Interspersed with the account of the ordeal are Ansell's descriptions of the life of an Australian bushman and some information about the geography and wildlife of Australia. The terse style of writing reflects the matter-of-fact acceptance of the situation. Many Australian colloquialisms and expressions enrich the narrative. Geographical points are easily located on the map at the front of the book. This book compares to other first-hand survival accounts, such as Lauren Elder and Shirley Streshinsky's And I Alone Survived (Dutton, 1978; o.p.) and Dougal Robertson's Survive the Savage Sea (Sheridan, 1984). A good addition to survival collections in school and public libraries. Ruth Fitzgerald, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Hope that helps! :)

Clint Hollingworth
The Wandering Ones webcomic
http://www.wanderingones.com
 
A book I thought was interesting was Indian Creek Chronicles by Pete Fromm. Its about how in college he read of mountain men and wanted a similar adventure. He talked his way into a forest service job guarding salmon eggs in some remote part of Idaho for 7mo's with only his dog for company. He quickly learned he was in way over his head and had to learn everything in the field. very similar to into the wild in that regard, but with a far different outcome. Anyway, its a good read.

John
 
The First One Hundred Years of Nino Cochise. Its a hard book to put down.
 
I remember as a kid reading a book whose name I don't recall, but the author was Hugo Wortman. It's a true account of how his sailboat goes down near Alaska and he and his two children survive on the remote Alaskan coast for an extended period with minimal gear salvaged from the wreck.
 
Foilist said:
I remember as a kid reading a book whose name I don't recall, but the author was Hugo Wortman. It's a true account of how his sailboat goes down near Alaska and he and his two children survive on the remote Alaskan coast for an extended period with minimal gear salvaged from the wreck.
Click to expand...

If it's Almost Too Late it looks like a great book.:thumbup:
 
In the Heart of the Sea

Story of the whaleship Essex in the midst of the Nantucket whaling boom of the 19th century. Long story short, the ship is sunk by a sperm whale and the crew is set adrift in lifeboats. Dehydration, hunger, cannibalism...it's got it all, along with recent, documented accounts of people going through near death experiences to give a scientific glimpse into what these men must've been going through. Great read.
 
Karluk : a great untold story of Arctic exploration

I am almost certain this is the book I read about 7 years ago. Excellent story about Arctic survival. I highly recomend. -DT
 
This is a nice thread with lots of great stories.

Thor Heyerdahl, Sven Hedin and Heinrich Harrer are my favorite, though first two are not
exactly survival story tellers.
 
Heinrich Harrer ... Seven Years in Tibet. I must have read that book a half dozen times. Not just survival or adventure. Practical anthropology. The Dalai Lama was very interesting in those days, an intelligent young man, eager to learn.
 
Into the Wild, John Krakauer.

No, he did NOT survive, but it's a good story and does an excellent job of illustrating how important it is to respect nature, have a plan and proper equipment. Good primer for what not to do. I always recommend it to youthful and foolhardy, but otherwise intelligent, fellas.

Mistakes are sometimes the best teachers, especially if they're someone else's.
 
I think I got frostbite just from reading Frozen Terror by Ben East, an account of Lewis Sweet's week long ordeal, adrift on a ice floe, while ice fishing on Lake Michigan in 1929.
 
Alive by Piers Paul Reid
Adrift by Steven Callahan
Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston
Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzales
Touching the Void by Joe Simpson
 
Endurance, by Frank Worsley.

The story of Shackeltons expedition told by the captain of the Endurance, and the man who piloted the James Caird, a covered lifeboat, 800 miles across some of the worst ocean to get help.
 
PB Wilson said:
In the Heart of the Sea

Story of the whaleship Essex in the midst of the Nantucket whaling boom of the 19th century. Long story short, the ship is sunk by a sperm whale and the crew is set adrift in lifeboats. Dehydration, hunger, cannibalism...it's got it all, along with recent, documented accounts of people going through near death experiences to give a scientific glimpse into what these men must've been going through. Great read.
Click to expand...

+1

Also, the basis for Melville's Moby Dick.

Rubber meets road in this well researched and written account.
 
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